Sunday, February 3, 2008

Mark Ryden

Boy Blue

One of the nice things about having a little blog is that it gives me the opportunity to bring really neat stuff to the attention of readers. Allow me to introduce you to the work of Mark Ryden. I’ve stumbled across his stuff a few times, but didn’t know who the artist was. To quote Wikipedia: “Ryden’s work combines a saccharine cartoon-like sensibility – much like the doe-eyed Margaret Keane creatures of the 1960s – with a detailed fullness and a creepy combination of numerology, little girls, meat, Catholic and Buddhist symbolism, and carnivalesque Americana.” It’s marvelously surreal and reminds me more than a little bit of Fergus Hall (hard to come by his stuff these days). The prints and reproductions are surprisingly affordable. Check them out if this little sample tickles your fancy.